WARNING - This site is currently in BETA. Expect the unusual.

16th Century Costume

We do not produce large amounts of "off the peg" costumes for sixteenth century re-enactment, due to the fairly dramatic changes in style. We start the 16th century with men wearing doublet and hose of the 15th century style, see the profusion of doublets of some rediculous proportions of Holbien immensity, back down to the slim fitting taylored garment with short waist tabs, the hose become shorter to above the knee, then widen to short breeches, to end the century with the full, baggy, below knee style in fashion. Women's fashion discards the medieval kirtle, in favour of a far more shapely, dress, which evolves into the high boned bodice and shirt with the lower squared neckline. Even with the simpler lower and middle class garments and ignoring the outragous (and at times, indecent) fashions of the Court, this is still a complex century to cover. This about as close to a generic list as it gets and anything off this selection is probably a custom made garment with a custom made price tag. Your call.

Doublets, Later Tabbed - from £70.00
With 6 short tabs about the waist, this would be suitable for a late 16th Century style
Jerkins - from £45.00
A sleeveless version of the Doublet, also called a Singlet, again this would be suitable for a late 16th Century style
Pourpoints - from £45.00
A sleeveless early version of the Doublet, for the earlier part of the 16th century.
Shirts - £20.00
Tough and hard wearing. Available as collared or as collarless, they are buttoned at the cuff.
Breeches Hint: you can create a short legged set of breeches, without having to go to a custom piece. Just tie the breeches above your knee and pad out with bags of chopped straw (or err... duvet material)
Stockings - £10.00
Cotton stockings to be worn with breeches
Hose Slim fitting with codpiece, this are still in fashion from the 15th century for the early part of this one.
Braies, short - £15.00
Authentic comfortable underwear! Worn with joined leg hose, with drawstring fastening.
Helmet liners - £12.00
Skull cap style, fits in nearly all helmets.
Hood, plain - from £30.00
Wool and wool lined, very warm.
Hood, lirapipe - from £35.00
Wool and wool lined, with the classic long tail behind Dresses - from £70.00
Women's dress, a combined bodice and skirt. The skirt is drawn to the body with a drawstring which gathers the front, then the bodice is laced down.
Bodices - from £45.00
"Boned" and fully supporting
Sleeveless Bodices - from £35.00
"Boned" and fully supporting, without sleeves
Skirts - from £40.00
Shifts - £20.00
Underdress, neck and sleeve ends gather with a drawstring (cotton).
Shift, cotton - £20.00
Underdress, neck and sleeve ends all hand stitched, no visible machine stitching.
Shift, linen - £30.00
Underdress, neck and sleeve ends all hand stitched, no visible machine stitching.
Coifs - from £10.00
Women's headcovering, lace as option, this would be suitable for a late 16th Century style.
Goto Top
Return to Home Page

Livery Coat Standard issue style to liveried retainers of the various late 15th century noble factions, this is a fairly generic coat still being worn in the late 16th century, by both military and civilian alike. This style is high collared and has full topped sleeves which taper to the wrist. The body is upper thiegh length, full and should be belted around the waist to display folds. The outer garment is wool and lined in tough calico. Round, wooden bead buttons. Size: Standard to chest (inches), Small 36", Medium 38" to 44", Large 46" to 48", wide range ex-stock (except Small size to order only). Prices from: £79  Goto Top
Soldier's Coat We refer to this garment as a Soldier's Coat as it was the standard issue style to most regiments which fought in the English Civil War. It is however a fairly generic coat worn from late 16th century to late 18th century by tradesmen and working class labourers, and examples are to be found in Diderot's Book of Trades. It is a plain coat with a short necked collar, button fastened at the front, sleeve is worn turn backed. The outer garment is wool and lined in tough calico. Round, wooden bead buttons. Size: Standard to chest (inches), Small 36" to 38", Medium 40" to 42", Large 44" to 46", XLarge 46", mostly ex-stock depending on colour. Prices from: £50 (XL sizes from £60)  Goto Top
Doublet A common style of Doublet, seen through out the 15th century and into the early 16th century. This style is collared and has full topped sleeves which taper to closely fit the lower arm. The waist has a single tab attached all the way round it, in which there are six sets of eyelet pairs to which additional ties or cords may be used to attached hose to. The outer garment is wool and lined in calico. Four leather tie fastenings at front. We also sell brass egrets (or point ends), should you wish to make your own points to replace the leather ties, at £1 each. Including the points for the front and hose, you will need a total of 16 egrets or (20 for 46" chest) Size: Chest (inches), 36" to 46" ex-stock Prices from: £65 (44"plus from £70)  Goto Top
Hose (Joined Leg) The classic joined leg hose, seen through out the 15th century and early 16th century. The garment is "cut on the cross" to give it maximium stretch to the limits of the material, with codpiece over the front panel opening. The waist has six sets of eyelet pairs to which additional ties or cords may be used to attach or "point" to a Doublet or Pourpoint. The outer garment is wool and strenghtened at the waistband with calico. Braid tie fastening at front and codpiece. We also sell brass aiglets (or point ends), should you wish to make your own points, at £1 each. Including the points for the front and codpiece, you will need a total of 14 aiglets or (18 for 44" and 46" waist) or just 6 for the codpiece and front fastening. Finally, you are warned to kneel and not to bend over when wearing hose - you will expose yourself to all with dramatic rapidity (or rip-idity perhaps). Size: Waist (inches), 30" to 46" ex-stock Prices from: £45 (44"plus from £50)  Goto Top
Breeches Baggy leg breeches, superior quality, tough and hard wearing. Fully lined, these are very comfortable and will give years of service. They tie below the knee and are worn high waisted. The outer garment is wool and lined with calico. Tie fastening at leg end included. Normally tied below the knee for 17th century, there are a few tricks you should know. Tie them above the knee and pad the out with soft filler (duvet lining is ideal) and you have very passable 16th century breeches. Remove the leg tie, and close the split in the bottom of the leg with a button or two (so it buttons over instead of tied tight) and you have 18th century breeches instead. Sorted. Size: Waist (inches), 30" to 44" ex-stock Prices from: £40 (44"plus from £45)  Goto Top
Kirtle This is the late 14th, 15th century and early 16th century style kirtle, close fitting and with sleeves which taper to closely fit the arm and has a lace up front. The front should be worn laced close together (straight laced). Using cross lacing causes the shift to show through and is considered "advertising" (whence we have a "loose woman"). The garment is available in wool or linen. A long piece of braid for lacing is included. We also sell brass aiglets (or point ends), should you wish to make lacing the garment a lot easier, at £1 each, you will need 2, one for each lace end. Technically, the Kirtle is an underdress - although wearing it on it's own acceptable in hot weather, for colder weather you should consider an Overdress or at least making a Tabard or similar. Do not even think about wearing one without a Shift underneath! Size: Bust (inches), 32" to 44" ex-stock in both wool and linen Prices from: £65  Goto Top
Over-Kirtle A plain, full length over-dress in wool, with short sleeves, for the late 14th, 15th century and early 16th century. It has no fastenings and just pulls on over the head. At the moment, we have a limited range ex-stock but will be increasing the colour range slowly. Size: Bust (inches), 32" to 44" limited range in stock, wool Prices from: £60  Goto Top
Coif, tied Simple medieval headcovering, tied under the neck. Ideal for wearing beneath hats and helmets and keeping the Devil out of your head. Calico. Size: Standard. Usually ex-stock. Prices from: £10  Goto Top
Collar, Lace Women's Lace Collars, are wide to shoulder and trimmed in lace. We use Authentilace reproduction 17th and 18th century lace for our collars. The lace is machine made but reproduced exactly from original pricking cards for authentic design lace, with the exact look and feel. Cheaper lace collars are sometimes also available with synthetic lace trims. Cotton with cord ties. Size: Standard, small number ex-stock, various styles. Prices from: £25 upwards (Non-Authentilace from £19)  Goto Top
Collar, plain Women's plain collars made wide to shoulder. For the Goodwife of pitiful means but a wish to be seen as decent. Cotton with cord ties. Size: Standard. No stock, made to order Prices from: £10  Goto Top
Cloak, Hooded Our cloaks are made with function in mind. They are thick, hard wearing, durable and above all keep you warm. That is their purpose, they are made out of thick coating quality wool, and are lined in heavy cotton for strength. They are hemmed at the bottom, no half measures, leaving unhemmed edges is sloppy workmanship. The hood is not the floppy, fall over your face fanciful "widow's" style, it sits properly on your head as it should do. The neckline is correctly shaped and as a consequence the cloak will not ride back and strangle you, it will hang about the shoulders equally. It is an unintended co-incidence that our cloaks happen to look extremely elegant and move beautifully. We would prefer to think you are looking for a hardy and rugged garment to wear round a blazing campfire on freezing cold nights and whipping winds, and stay snug. You can treat them with waterproofing if you wish, but the wool does possess a natural degree of water resistance and even when the wool is very wet, the lining tends to remain dryish except on the shoulders. Never wash your cloak, preferably do not dry clean it either as the dry cleaning chemicals do horrible things to the natural properties of the wool, simply hang it out to air on fine days and it will last you for many, many years. Let's not get drawn into the arguments flying about as to whether it is authentic to have hoods attached to cloaks. We are happy that they did but life is too short to argue about these things, so your call, if you are not happy with it, acquire one of our Plain Cloaks and separate Hood instead. Size: Standard Prices from: £85  Goto Top
Cloak, Plain A cheaper alternative to the Hooded Cloak, these are simple, single button fastening cloaks without hood or lining. They are the most basic protection against the weather that has been devised since time began and ideal for living history. We also supply separate full, lined hoods if you so require. Generally, we use lighter weight wools for this sort of cloak (compared to the Hooded Cloaks which are generally heavier wools). We have a couple of very heavy wool plain cloaks, made of a coating wool, be warned we are not joking when we say heavy! If you are up for wearing them, please note the higher postage costs involved. Cloaks can be treated with waterproofing if you wish. Never wash your cloak, preferably do not dry clean, hang it out to air on fine days instead. Size: Standard. Heavy wool version costs £5 more postage. Prices from: £50  Goto Top
Shoes A fairly generic medieval pointed shoe. Designed to be tough and hard wearing, these should give you several seasons use, although walking on tarmac tends to lose you cobble nail heads after a while. Triple stitched at the toe and reinforced at the heel, with thick, hard leather soles, they are fairly comfortable and practical at the same time. The shoe and ties are natural leather and cobbled together using steel nails. Use approved leather cleaning materials, store dry. Ideally, you should wear Pattens with all medieval shoes, as this will considerably reduce wear and tear on the sole. People often ask how to make leather soled shoes safer to walk on. The sticking of rubber carpet grip to the underside of the shoe achieves this and is known to cause authenticity officers to suffer cardiac arrest... :-) Size: Standard, UK sizes 5 to 12 in stock, light brown colour only. Prices from: £75  Goto Top
Latchet Shoes An generic latchet shoe, available as a "closed" or "open" (sometimes called a "keyhole latchet") style. Square toed, with thick, hard leather soles. Designed to be tough and hard wearing, they will last if cared for. Comfortable, at least after breaking-in, please note these are not pre-stretched. The image - if you can see it - shows the black "closed" latchet behind and a brown "open" latchet in front. The shoe and ties are natural leather. Use approved leather cleaning materials, store dry. People often ask how to make leather soled shoes safer to walk on. Correctly speaking, shoes should be hobbed in metal studs but the sticking of rubber grip to the underside of the shoe also achieves this, just don't let anybody see it... ;-) Size: Standard, UK sizes 5 to 12 in stock, black leather, limited few in dark brown. Prices from: £75  Goto Top

For garments off list, please be prepared to provide a complete set of diagrams or illustrations of the garment(s) and a quotation will be provided for your consideration. Please allow 2-3 months for research, pattern making & testing, cutting and manufacture, dependant on the complexity of the garment.